It is recognized by a golfer that the game of golf has two fundamentally distinct aspects. One aspect is on the driving tee and fairway, and the other is on the putting green. On the driving tee and fairway the golfer looks to equipment which will maximize the distance of ball travel even at some sacrifice in ball control. Golf woods and irons, therefore, normally utilize a relatively heavy head set at the end of a relatively long shaft. These woods and irons are normally swung with the greatest power possible, consistent with position and conditions on the golf course, all to provide greater distance of ball travel. It has been suggested to incorporate into the head or face of a wood a plastic material having high resiliency and hardness to provide greater distances of ball travel.
On the putting green, the golfer is not primarily concerned with power and distance, but needs to accurately propel the ball to and into the hole with as few strokes as possible. Accurate propulsion of the ball to and into the hole requires a sense of touch and feel by the golfer between the golf ball on the green and his putter. The desire of the golfer to maximize the touch and feel necessary to accurately control the direction of the ball movement and the distance of the ball movement on the putting green has led to literally hundreds of putter shapes and designs. The various shapes and designs have included putters having heads with an increased mass to increase the distance of ball travel with a short backswing, which increases accuracy; localization and balancing of the mass in the head to improve directional accuracy; decreased mass in the putter head to provide increased accuracy, and the use of a striking face made of rubber or plastic material to impart a sense of feel and touch while controlling the rebound characteristics of the ball when struck with the rubber or plastic face of the putter. The various putter designs and various metal striking faces of different shapes and weights have received a mixed degree of success. However, up until now no putter having a rubber or plastic striking face has been successfully marketed and none are presently being marketed.